The Enemy of my Enemy is the second scenario in the El Cid campaign in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. It is loosely based on the Leonese conquest of Toledo (1081-1085), a key event in the reign of Alfonso VI and the Reconquista that did not actually involve El Cid as it coincided with his first exile in Zaragoza (1081-1087).

Intro Edit

How do I know so much of my Cid, Rodrigo Díaz? I am Ximena of Asturias, and I am the Dona of this castle. Rodrigo and I were married in Castile in 1075. Those were among the happiest days in my life, at least when my husband was not being sent to do battle against the Moors.

Far to the east, in the Holy Land, they speak of only one Muslim expansion - that of the Seljuk Turks. But here, in Spain, we speak of another - the Moors. The Moors ruled southern Spain for so long that Christian and Muslim often lived side by side with little animosity. Such was the case in the city of Toledo, which was in Moorish lands, but inhabited by Christians as well.

A political assassination had plunged the city of Toledo into civil war. Seeing a chance to expand his empire, King Alfonso struck at Toledo under the pretense of restoring order.

He ordered the Cid to command the army, though one must wonder if once again he was intentionally putting the Cid in harm's way.

Scenario Instructions Edit

Starting Conditions Edit

Objectives Edit

  • Find a way to stop the rebellion in Toledo.
  • El Cid must survive.
    • El Cid must meet with the Imam, for he will know how to quell the unrest in Toledo.
    • Recover the 4 Relics from the rebel leaders and return them to the Imam.

Hints Edit

Scouts Edit

  • Your scouts report: El Cid (red) starts with a small force that you can use to construct your base. You should do so quickly and scout for resources later.
  • El Cid is fighting against the Spanish Rebels (orange) and the Moorish Rebels (green) over the helpless city of Toledo (yellow). There are other Moors nearby, Motamid (cyan) and the Imam (purple), a holy man. Neither seems aggressive against El Cid's forces.
  • The Spanish Rebel army is composed of infantry, Knights, and Battering Rams. The Moorish Rebels use archers, Camel Riders, and Mangonels. Either army may have Monks. Toledo has strong walls, so make sure to bring along siege weapons.

Players Edit

Player Edit

  • Player (Spanish): The player starts with the starting units and a few Pavilions in the northwest of the map.

Allies Edit

  • Toledo (Saracens): Toledo is where the rebellion takes place. It lies in the south and is occupied by rebels. When the game starts, a few Villagers come towards the player's army, fleeing Toledo. They disappear to the northwest after telling the Cid to visit the Imam in the north.
  • The Imam (Saracens): The Imam resides on an island in the north. He possesses a House, Dock, and Monastery.
  • Motamid (Saracens): Motamid has a Market just east of the player's starting position, along with a Monk and a few Camels. Motamid is allied to all players and his Monk heals friends and foes alike.

Enemies Edit

  • Moorish Rebels (Saracens): The Moorish Rebels occupy Toledo. They have their base inside Toledo's walls, but also have a farming area east of Toledo, outside the city walls. The eastern bridge is guarded by four Moorish towers. They mostly train Pikemen and Crossbowmen.
  • Spanish Rebels (Spanish):The Spanish Rebels settled down west of Toledo, just outside the city walls, but also have structures within the walls. They have a few Cavaliers initially, but cannot create more as they cannot advance to the Imperial Age. They mostly use Long Swordsmen and Battering Rams.

Strategy Edit

The player starts the game with 8 Knights, 8 Long Swordsmen, 6 Archers, 3 Light Cavalry, and 4 Villagers, along with El Cid. There is no worries to consume too many resources on defense on standard difficulty, as the main enemy force are mostly Cavaliers (for Spanish Rebels) and Camels (for Moorish). They usually patrol in single units. However, if the player intends to protect the units, archers are the priority targets, as they are usually attacked by enemy cavalry units.

In order to manage the resources well, first use one of the Knights to patrol to the eastern part of the shore (area ahead of the bridge), there are more than 10 Sheep. It is advised that more Knights or other units can guide the Sheep back to Town Centers. Never lead the Sheep to Motamid's Market, as he will take over the Sheep. At this stage, wood resources is inadequate so it is not recommended to start building Farms. Building a Market is not necessary, as it won't earn much gold through trade; the player can build it when they want to exchange resources.

There are two primary sources of Gold Mines: one located at the shore at the West, while one is located at the eastern region along the path when players want to find stone mine. When El Cid marches to the triage of the path, Motamid will reveal the Stone Mine, however the enemy's Villagers start building a Mining Camp there. There is also one smaller Stone Mine which is located ahead of the one revealed by Motamid. A common mistake is to reach the stone mine by using the bridge at the center part of the map. This is dangerous, as four Moorish Watch Towers guard the region. A safer route is to use the shallows ahead of the bridge to get to the next side. As this path is also used by Spanish Rebel Cavaliers, any Villagers to the Stone Mine must be guarded with some military units.

When the player's unit reaches the higher shore of the region (a bit higher at the place where players find Gaia Sheep), there will be one Transport Ship and Motamid will suggest that the player goes fishing. This suggestion can be considered as equal number of fishing boats consumes less resources than farm (as each time to renew the farm consumes 60 wood). There is no worry that on standard difficulty, enemy's units seldom attack player's Dock (One Watch Tower is enough for its defence). The use of this Gaia transport ship is useful to the northernmost island, where El Cid will meet the Imam, who later gives player new objective. However, it is not recommended to bring El Cid to meet the Imam at an early stage of the game (the Monk at the north island with only 1 Monastery, 1 Dock and 1 House) as this may elicit a Moorish avenge by creating 3 Moorish War Galleys.

To win the scenario, garrison four relics in the Imam's Monastery. Therefore, just bring 3 Monks (3 Monks is enough for 4 relics if players have researched Atonement) with the army at the start of the campaign is enough. The player may also use Rams to destroy enemy military buildings.

The player is advised to start the siege at the center part as the gate (way ahead after the four Moorish watch towers) belongs to Toledo, so player can have assess to get into the city. Destroy the four Moorish watch towers as this can be done by Petards (4 petards for 1 Watch Tower) or Rams. Then, in order to capture the 4 Relics safely, wipe out all Barracks, Archery Range ands Stables along the way. When the player goes downwards along the stables, they will see a Moorish Monk with a Relic trapped behind Palisade Walls. Convert this Monk, and the player will get the first Relic. The player can consider garrisoning it in their own Monastery to generate gold.

When the player has captured the first Relic, turn left to see 1 Spanish Rebel Monastery and 1 Moorish Monastery. Before players launch their attack of these Monasteries by Knights or rams, send the Knights or Light Cavalry to kill the Monks there, as Spanish and Saracen have researched Redemption, which can convert the player's army, including siege weapons. When the Monasteries are destroyed, the player can collect the second and third Relics.

The player will see two Docks beneath the destroyed Monastery, and they need to use the path to get to the bridge. However, there is a Spanish Castle on the left, so players may need to use Rams to destroy it as to clear the path. There are also two Moorish Watch Towers after the bridge, so Rams or Petards are needed. Until then, the player reaches the Moorish base where there is a Moorish Castle as well so same method to deal with it. At the right region after the Moorish Castle is destroyed, there is one remaining Relic inside the Palisade Wall, so players can get it easily.

Now use the Transport Ship to transported the Monks with Relics and El Cid to the Imam and instantly garrison them. Three Moorish War Galleys will spawn in the lake at this point but there is no need to destroy them, as the player can use the 4 Monks to convert them if necessary. However, victory will be declared for the player as soon as the Relics are garrisoned in the Monastery.

Outro Edit

Once again, the Cid emerged victorious, and delivered the city to King Alfonso. Moor and Christian alike shouted his name from the city walls, and called him El Cid Campeador - my lord, the conqueror. After nearly 400 years of Moorish rule, the city of Toledo was ruled by a Christian king.

But still Alfonso was not satisfied! He accused the Cid of seeking personal glory at the expense of the crown. When he heard the peasants shouting the name of the Cid instead of Alfonso's own name, he became even more angered. I knew then that our contented lives in Castile were about to end.

Trivia Edit

  • The map appears to place Toledo on the Guadiana river (which makes a similar bend pointed to the north) rather than the Tagus (which, in the Toledo area, actually matches the course of the map's northern river, but with the land between the Jarama and Tagus rivers "flooded" to make the Imam's lake). This is supported by the mountains between rivers (like the Toledo Hills) and the flat area to the southeast (like La Mancha plain), while no similar geographic features exist north of Toledo in reality.
  • In addition, the shape of the empty hilly area between El Cid, Motamid, the lake, and the river, is virtually identical to Toledo's Medieval city, which is surrounded on its southern side by the Tagus rather than spread across it. Since maps oversize cities compared to rivers and coastlines (as seen with Orléans, Constantinople, or London), this could mean that Toledo was originally placed on the right location but that the map's layout and objectives were changed during development.
  • Finally, though the lake has no equivalent in reality, there was a large island in the Tagus just northeast of Toledo, Antolínez's Island, which disappeared in the 20th century.
  • In the Definitive Edition, Motamid's Monk is now identified as Motamid himself and given Musa ibn Nusayr's icon. He is not a hero, however, and boasts only 30 hit points.

Historical comparison Edit

  • Toledo is known as the "City of the Three Cultures" because it was a rare case in Medieval Europe where large numbers of Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together in the same city with legal protection. This is referenced by Toledo being shared by two Saracen and one Spanish players, and by three monasteries (also two Saracen and one Spanish) placed together in the city center. In the two centuries after the Christian conquest, the city had a School of Translators where scholars of different confessions translated oriental and lost Greco-Roman works from Arabic and Hebrew to Romance, allowing their diffusion in Europe.
  • Though the game distinguishes only between Iberian Muslims ("Moors", ruled by Motamid) and North African Berbers (ruled by Yusuf), the Iberian Caliphate of Cordoba had collapsed in 1031 into statelets called Taifas, many of which paid tribute to the Christian kingdoms for protection. When Ferdinand I divided his realm between his sons (Castile to Sancho, Leon to Alfonso, and Galicia to García), he also divided the tributes: Zaragoza's to Sancho, Toledo's to Alfonso, and Badajoz and Seville's to García.
  • The assassination plunging Toledo into chaos is King Al-Mamun's in 1075, who was actually poisoned in Cordoba after conquering it. Al-Mamun, a friend of Alfonso who sheltered him when he was defeated by Sancho, was succeeded by his grandson Al-Qadir, who fled to Leon in 1079 after several revolts and invasions by Al-Mutawakkil of Badajoz and Al-Mutamid of Seville (thus Motamid actually represents Al-Qadir in this scenario, not Al-Mutamid). Initially, Alfonso restored Al-Qadir in return for lands north of the Tagus, but after another (mostly Muslim) revolt, Al-Qadir and a mostly Christian faction offered to surrender Toledo to Alfonso if he did a mock siege and made Al-Qadir King of Valencia instead.
  • The campaign omits when Alfonso sent El Cid to collect tribute from Al-Mutamid in 1079. While in Seville, Al-Mutamid was attacked by Abdallah of Granada, but El Cid defeated him at the Battle of Cabra. Surprisingly Abdallah's army included a Castilian force led by Count García Ordóñez, Alfonso's cousin who had been sent to get Granada's tribute, and he was taken prisoner. In the epics, Ordóñez became El Cid's enemy and convinced Alfonso to exile him. This is not excluded by historians (for example he was given El Cid's previous role in Court), but it is believed that the pretext for the exile was when El Cid retaliated against a raid by Toledan rebels on Castile with his own unauthorized raid on Toledo. Although Al-Qadir was overthrown by that point, Alfonso ruled that Toledo was still his vassal and punished El Cid.

Gallery Edit
